23Oct 2015 by Nigel Ring

Churches that Change Communities

Jubilee+, News, Poor
It was so stimulating to gather with over 250 passionate and like-minded people for the annual Jubilee+ conference! The opportunity to learn about how to be more effective in ministry with those who are poor and disadvantaged, to receive fresh vision, to network with others and to pray together, was an event I was determined not to miss. And my expectations were not disappointed. Jubilee+ Jubilee+ is an initiative that began within the Newfrontiers family of churches several years ago with a vision ‘To increase social inclusion and the relief of poverty through churches engaging with social action, social justice and social enterprise’. This is achieved through ‘equipping churches of all denominations to engage more effectively with our communities and, particularly, to help them increase their capacity to serve the…
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24Sep 2015 by Nigel Ring

The life you never expected – Book Review

Books, Equipping, News
I find that many families carry significant burdens in their lives. Often we are ignorant of these as they appear OK when we see them among the church on Sundays. But dig a bit and you will find major issues. My wife and I faced this 23 years ago. One day I received a phone call in my office telling me that our son had been involved in a serious road accident. In that moment I thought ‘I think that life has just totally changed and we had no warning’. That proved to be true. Andrew and Rachel Wilson carry a particular life-changing situation in their home with two young children who have regressive autism. Andrew, an elder of Kings Church, Eastbourne, is well known across the Newfrontiers family for…
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16Sep 2015 by Nigel Ring

Update on India

India, News
How we became involved with India I first visited India with the International Leprosy Mission in January 1981. Terry Virgo had just begun to gather a team of men who, in due course, became the leaders of Newfrontiers, a family of churches around the world. When the team first met in September 1980 we had contact with a few churches in south east England – and one in Bombay in India! Little did I know on what first visit that God had in mind. He used the visit to put a hook in my heart and since then I have visited India on many occasions. Initially there were some issues that needed resolving in the church in Bombay (now Mumbai) and Henry and Dorothy Tyler lived there for four months…
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09Sep 2015 by Nigel Ring

The word for word Bible comic

Books, Equipping, News
We live in an age where sustained reading is becoming less common, where people expect sound bites and a high level of graphics. Reaching people with the Bible in written form is becoming more and more challenging. With this in mind I was excited to learn of a project being carried out by a member of the City Church in Bristol (pen name Simon Amadeus Pillario) who is taking significant portions of the Bible and reproducing them word for word with comic illustrations of the highest quality. Comics are one of the most rapidly rising areas of popular communication, not, as might be expected, only among children, but among those in the 15-40 age groups. So this initiative is very timely, providing a resource to reach out to a section of…
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01Sep 2015 by Nigel Ring

The excitement of déjà vu!

Commission, Downs Bible Week, Newday, News
Our history In 1979 the first Downs Bible Week was launched at Plumpton Racecourse in Sussex, UK. There were 2900 who camped there on that occasion. Over the next ten years this grew to 8,500 until, in 1988, God told us to close the Bible Week and ‘take the Downs to the nation’. This resulted in the Enjoying God’s Grace tour (fondly called the EGG tour!) with a weekend conference in 16 cities. Meanwhile, for two years a youth event was held at Plumpton, More than Conquerors, the forerunner of Newday. In 1991 the Stoneleigh Bible Week was launched in the heart of the UK, near Coventry. Starting with 8,500 this grew to 28,000 over eleven years. Then God told us to ‘Go!’, a commission that has taken us from…
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29Jul 2015 by Nigel Ring

Pacific Rim News

News, Pacific Rim
News from apostolic spheres in the Newfrontiers family of churches In recent days I have, from time to time, given news updates from around the apostolic spheres of Newfrontiers as I have become aware of them. Here are some extracts from a recent newsletter from the Pacific Rim. In UK summer holidays are upon us so this will be my last post for a few weeks.   A Word from Peter Brooks... I recently had the privilege of hearing John Maxwell speak on Leadership. Having enjoyed his book over the years, I can only say I loved him even more in the flesh. I think for me, his focus and passion on making Christ known was profound. The thundering message that rattled through the arena in Sydney as he spoke…
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